How Do You Recover From A Bad Customer Experience?

Knowing how to recover from a bad customer experience is the key. We all make mistakes and some problems are beyond our control. Let's look at the global software crisis we recently experienced. The airlines were hit the hardest as well as healthcare facilities, and for some, it took days and even weeks for them to recover. Other smaller businesses recovered at a faster pace. For some, it was back to old-school pen and paper.

Sometimes weather is a problem for airlines when there are flight delays that are beyond their control. Of course, this can cause a lot of problems for customers especially if they are going to a special event, have booked hotels, rental cars, or activities that they had to pay in advance. I see that some hotels are asking you if you want to pay an additional fee to protect you from delays or cancellation problems that are beyond your control. Might be worth the fee!

There are also times when a restaurant takes a reservation and customers at the table sit longer than expected and this ends up making the next reservation late. Of course, you can't tell a customer they must leave so somehow you have to appease the customers that are waiting. Even when these problems occur and it's beyond your control you must do whatever it takes to make customers happy. We all know most customers understand that it isn't your fault however there are always the few that will complain.

Hotels have a specific check-in time for a reason however when a housekeeper calls out or the last guests stay in their room longer than the check-out time this can be a problem for the guests checking in. There are many reasons why a bad experience can't be avoided however if you and your team know how to handle these problems in a calm and apologizing way it will be much easier for everyone. Let's look at some ways you can turn a bad experience into a good one.

• Be honest with the customer about the problem - communication is the key
• Offer them something for free - like a free appetizer or drink if you are a restaurant
• Offer a complimentary amenity - like a spa service, or a voucher for breakfast if you are a hotel
• Help the customer rebook another flight if theirs is going to be delayed or canceled for a long time - rebooking a canceled flight may be required but if handled with empathy it can be a game-changer
• If there is going to be a long flight delay (in the case of the software problem) offer a restaurant voucher in the terminal or a shuttle to a nearby hotel (offer to pay for a hotel room if this is the airline's fault)
• If you have a product delivery delay communicate that to the customer - when you speak to the customer or email them have all the product delivery information and then let them know when it will be delivered

The key to turning a bad experience into a good one is employee training. If you train your team on how they should be handling problems it will be easier on you, your team, and the customer.

We at The Hart Experience educate teams on the customer's perspective. Not every problem can be turned around however if you and your team at least try your customer will be more understanding. We customize all our shop reports so that any situation can be added to them. Let us help you turn those bad experiences into good ones with some additional team training and development. Contact Debbie at 602.717.3271 or [email protected]

https://www.thehartexperience.com